Trump on anthem protests: NFL owners 'afraid' of their players

Donald Trump claims that NFL owners are in support of his stance on the national anthem protests, but they are "afraid of their players", sparking social media backlash.

Author:
WHAS Staff

Published:
10:32 AM EDT September 28, 2017

Updated:
10:32 AM EDT September 28, 2017

(USA Today) - WASHINGTON – President Trump says most Americans agree with his attacks on protesting football players who kneel during the national anthem – and claims so do some National Football League owners.

"They say, 'We are in a situation where we have to do something,' " Trump said in an interview broadcast Thursday on Fox & Friends. "I think they're afraid of their players, you want to know the truth."

Trump's assertion that the team owners were "afraid" sparked backlash on social media, where users pointed out that most of those players are African-American.

It's been nearly a week since Trump began to fire a spate of criticism against NFL players who kneeled during the national anthem to protest racial and social injustice, saying the action showed disrespect to the flag. Trump's comments inspired more players to kneel this past weekend, some of them in protest of the president.

In his Fox interview, Trump disputed the suggestion that the NFL debate has been a distraction from more important issues.